The SitePoint Forums have moved.

You can now find them here.
This forum is now closed to new posts, but you can browse existing content.
You can find out more information about the move and how to open a new account (if necessary) here.
If you get stuck you can get support by emailing forums@sitepoint.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Most people associate sites with black backgrounds with porn sites and amateur sites. I'm working on a new site currently that I think might look better with a black background, however I'm a little stuck on some of the details so I'm wondering if someone could point me towards a few well-designed sites with black backgrounds that I could take a look at.

In the professional world black backgrounds are only appropriate for entertainment or techie(nerd) sites. They are also of course popular with underground/porn sites.

This is not so because I read it in the The Big Rule Book of Web Design Or anything like that. This is true simply because of the evolution of the Internet. As the web has developed certain societal standards have been created. Business sites use white backgrounds. Porn sites use black backgrounds. Its the way things have developed. Sure there are the rebels. Some people get by nicely using off-color or pastel like backgrounds. But generally most sites stick to the norm.

Now there is a very good reason for all of this. The internet is full of suprises. Even the most novice surfer knows that links can lie to you. And so when they first come to your page they are going to assess it as either valid, or they're going to click up on the back button. Going against the norm doesn't help this assessment. Would amazon be as popular as it is if it used a black background and hot pink text? I don't think so. And if your site pops up and it reminds someone, even vaguely on a subconscious level, of a porn site or an amatuer homepage thats 1 strike against you.

This is why I always suggest to stick to the societal standards. If you use too many different colors your site will look to flashy(read cheap porn site) and not professional. And if you use a black background on a business site you run the same risk.

So carefully evaluate why you need a black background (I'm assuming this is infact for a business site), and if that background can be safely replaced with a dark grey or other dark color (assuming you need darkness) then I highly recommend switching.

It's actually for a fan site for a local band. I needed to learn some PHP, so I've written a basic content management system (loosly based on the one from Kevin Yank's tutorial) and I need to see it in action.

Anyway, I think I've got to keep looking for more sites with black backgrounds to get a better idea of color options - though I'm not too sure I have all that many. Right now it's looking like I'll be using a lot of bright orange and blue.

When I use a black background for a site, I always have the text in tables with a light (blue at EmuDreams) color or I use simply white text.

I don't think that a site with a black background does have to be necessarily bad. It's just another way of designing, as I've noticed while trying to convert a site with a black background to one with a white bg. It was hopeless

I'd have to agree with the view that for e-commerce sites, search sites and other such 'corporate' type sites, a black background can be very unnapealing. That's not to say that it can't work! It just takes more effort, to make it work.

Have a look at Alpine Australia's site (get past the splash page) and go into the rest of the site.

Now, considering Alpine specialises in audio, but is a pretty big corporate giant in the field, do you think this is appropriate?

(and in case you're wondering, yes, I was/is part of the team responsible for creating/developing/maintaining the site.. But send all the comments through anyway, since Alpine hasn't bothered to update in just a wee bit of a while.. LOL )

What are we all a bunch of lemmings (go with the rest of the crowd, white is for business, black is for porn) Look, it's time to change the rules!!! Besides shouldn't porn be using red velvet or something???

keep in mind folks that if you use a black background with light text, many people will not be able to print out your pages (if they so desire). That is one of the main reasons why businesses DO decide on a light colored background. Yes I do know that you can change your printing options, but your average user does not know about that.

k, so why has no one mentioned balthaser (or am I blind) - corking site that has to the best of my knowledege always favoured a black background. (www.balthaser.com). Another, while not black certainly bucks the white trend - http://www.northants-chamber.co.uk. A rather fetching blue. (any comments on this one appreciated as I am involved in developing it).

The notion that any one colour sceme is "the norm" on the net scares me. "Standards" are to be avoided unless we want to turn it into another plastic, lifeless media. The "content is king" cliche should marry the fact that imagination is queen......

Good on you for thinking outside the circle. We have a site we did that is black and dark blue, with splashes of orange (Sounds awful, but lloks okay). The product is being positioned at the cutting edge, etc and they wanted a high-tech looking site.